Dorset's Dodgy Driver's Excuses Revealed

Dorset police have been telling Heart about the latest list of excuses they've been given by speeding drivers or people caught using their phones or not wearing seatbelts.

As part of their 'No Excuses' campaign their patrol teams were out during the school holidays. Excuses from August included:

A male driver was stopped for using his mobile whilst driving his car, he said that his hands free kit had sand in it and was not working properly. Later, he admitted that as a keen cyclist he had considered writing a letter to the paper saying he was fed up with drivers who risked his life by using their mobiles!

A man was stopped driving a Porsche in Poole, later that day a different man was stopped for speeding and he said, "…you won’t believe this, I saw you stop that Porsche earlier and I said to my son, see that’s what happens when you speed….and now here I am".

In Bournemouth, a Harley Davidson rider was speeding at 62 mph in the 40 limit on Wessex Way, when stopped and asked why he was speeding he replied - "the problem is my speedo is down low and I'm too fat to see it."

Also in Bournemouth one man was stopped for not wearing his seatbelt, his reason was - "...I wasn’t wearing it as I don’t want a black mark on my white t-shirt".

A lady driving her husband and two children down Holdenhurst Road was stopped for not wearing a seatbelt only for the police officer to find out that she has been driving for 11 years without a licence. She also had no insurance - her car was seized.

One rider stopped in Bridport for riding with his crash helmet undone confessed he had it a year but didn’t know how to do it up!

A driver was stopped by a ‘no excuse’ team on the Dorset Way for overtaking their police car at speed in the 50 mph zone – the driver said he thought the road was subject to a 70 mph limit. The officers then asked “…so why were you driving at 87.47mph?” He went on to say “...come on officers, I already have 9 points on my licence”, by which time one of the officers had checked the car’s tyres only to find that the rear nearside tyre was unsafe. After being told he was being reported for both offences, asked the officers how long it would take for the offences to be heard in court, because he was due to appear in court in October for drink driving.

The ‘no excuse’ project is led by Dorset Road Safe, a partnership including Dorset County Council, Dorset Police, Bournemouth Borough Council and Dorset Fire and Rescue. For more information, go to http://www.dorsetroadsafe.org.uk